Vacuum cleaner for automobiles



Jan. 25, 1966 A. NIELSEN 3,

VACUUM CLEANER FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed April 18, 1963 INVENTO R.

United States Patent 3,230,569 VAtIUUM CLEANER FOR AUTOMOBILES Aage Nielsen, 1440 Mayview Ave., Apt. 1010, Ottawa 3, Ontario, Canada Filed Apr. 18, 1963, Ser. No. 273,925 1 Claim. (Cl. 15344) This invention relates to improvements in automobile acessories and more particularly to improvements in vacuum cleaners adapted for use with automobiles.

Hitherto, the cleaning of floors and upholstery of automobiles has been acomplished by the use of domestic or commercial vacuum cleaners, all of which have the disadvantages of being extremely bulky and requiring electrical extension leads, this latter requisite often being most inconvenient and sometimes dangerous. Furthermore, such devices are not readily portable and may be used only where a source of electrical supply is available.

A need often arises however, for a vacuum cleaner where neither a cleaner or electricity is available such as, for instance, on cross country trips or when camping, and it is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide a vacuum cleaner for automobiles, to be hereinafter referred to as a vacuum cleaner, which is fully portable.

Another object of the instant invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner which is entirely independent of electrical power, utilizing the vacuum developed in the engine intake system to provide the necessary suction.

A further object of the invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner, including an adapter to replace the conventional adapter for the vacuum line to windshield washers and the like, thereby providing an easily accessible connection for the vacuum hose, and said adapter including an on/off cock to prevent air leakage upon the invention being disconnected.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner which may be easily dismantled for purposes of cleaning the dust bag and general maintenance.

Furthermore, another primary object of the invention is to provide a small, powerful but relatively inexpensive vacuum cleaner which, by reason of price and efliciency, may be readily available to the general public.

These and various pertinent objects and features of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of parts and assemblies and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a vacuum cleaner of the present invention, shown connected with the intake manifold of an automobile.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one end fitting embodied in the invention, particularly adapted for cleaning between the seat and back rest.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a vacuum cleaner includes a cylindrical outer casing 11 having an end wall 12 at one end thereof and being open at the opposite end 13. A removable end cap 14 having an inwardly extending rim 15 is adapted to completely enclose open end 13 of casing 11, rim 15 being threaded onto the end of casing 11 at this location, or alternatively, held in location by other conventional means such as a bayonet connection or by compression clips.

A conventional end fitting for a tube connection extends outwardly from end wall 12, the latter being suitably perforated to permit the interior of outer casing 11 to be communicated through fitting 20, with a rigid tube 21 and, subsequently, a flexible tube 22. It should be noted that wall 12 is of sufiicient thickness to permit it to be threaded to receive fitting 20.

A tubular suction nozzle 24 passes through end cap 14 providing a short stub pipe 25 adapted to extend into the interior of casing 11 upon assembly of end cap 14 thereto, and an outwardly extending pipe 26 adapted to slideably receive various end fittings 27.

In a preferred embodiment, casing 11, end cap 14 and suction nozzle 24 are fabricated from a suitable high impact plastic material, and in order to increase the strength of casing 11, a number of spaced apart, longitudinal ribs 28 may be formed on the inner surface thereof, without materially reducing the effective internal diameter of casing 11.

A dust bag 30, having a closed end 31 and an open end 32 is substantially cylindrical and adapted to fit within the bore of casing 11. Open end 32 is preferably defined by an annular stiffener 33, the latter also acting as an air seal between end cap 14 and body 11 and, being trapped therebetween, also serving to secure and locate bag 30 within body 11.

Bag 30 may, of course be of the conventional cloth material and reusable or, in a preferred embodiment, of paper and therefore disposable.

Thus it will be seen that any air passing into outer casing 11 through suction nozzle 24 is directed through stub pipe 25 into bag 30, thereafter passing through bag 30 into the body of outer casing 11 and thence through end fitting 20 and tubes 21 and 22 into a source of suction.

From FIG. 1 it will be seen that the outer end 22a of flexible tube 22 may be fitted to any convenient source of suction such as, for instance, the intake manifold 37 of an automobile engine, the fitting conventionally utilized to provide suction for the operation of windshield washers and wipers being suitably modified to provide an additional pipe 38 to which an on/otf cock 39 may be fitted. Thus pipe 38 may be sealed when not required for use and, upon fitting end 22a of flexible pipe 22 thereto, cock 39 may be turned on and, with the engine running, the vacuum created in manifold 37 causes air to flow through the vacuum assembly 10 as described, dust being sucked through the appropriate end fitting 27 and trapped in bag 30.

Upon wishing to empty or dispose of bag 30, it is only necessary to remove end cap 14 from body 11, remove bag 30 and then reverse the procedure to replace or renew the bag.

Referring to FIG. 3, one end fitting 27a is shown to exemplify end fittings 27 as previously described. This particular fitting 27 is adapted to fit between tightly juxtaposed pieces of upholstery, such as that between the seat and back rests of a vehicle, and to this end has a fiat, flared nozzle 40. The upper and lower walls 41 and 42 of nozzle 40 are perforated, and the perforations 43 are interconnected by means of grooves 44 which also connect them with the edges 45 and 46 of nozzle 40. Thus, even though closely confined in the upholstery, a flow of air is maintained through nozzle 40 from an area at least as great as that of walls 41 and 42 and dust is, therefore, effectively removed from the upholstery.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that vacuum cleaner 10 may be conveniently stored in the trunk or even the glove compartment of a car, flexible tube 22 being supplied in sufiicient length to enable cleaner 10 to be used throughout the whole vehicle. Furthermore, as it is only dependent on the engine for suction power, it is completely independent of any other source of power and completely self contained.

The general design of the individual parts of the invention as explained above may be varied according to requirements in regards to manufacture and production thereof, while still remaining Within the spirit and principle of the invention, without prejudicing the novelty thereof.

What is claimed is:

A vacuum cleaner for automobiles including an outer casing, said outer casing having one open end, and an end wall completely closing off the opposite end; an end cap, means for detachably attaching said end cap to said open end, an air outlet connection extending outwardly from said end wall and said end wall being suitably perforated to permit said outlet connection to communicate with the interior of said outer casing; a suction nozzle integral with and extending through said end cap one end of said suction nozzle being adapted to slidably receive a detachable air conduit extension, the other end of said suction nozzle being external of said outer casing, a dust collector bag'having an open end and a closed end, and means holding said open end of said bag against said end cap, said bag'i'solating said suction nozzle from the remainder of the interior of said outer casing, an end fitting for said suction nozzle, said end fitting having two wide walls held spaced apart by side edges, said 20 Wells being flared outwardly, perforated and grooved; and

said grooves extending crosswise of said nozzle and interconnecting said perforations and said side edges.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS D 172,300 5/1954 Penzato 15-415 X 1,053,665 2/1913 Spencer l54l5 1,156,235 10/1915 Kirby 15344 X 1,801,966 4/193 1 Maddocks 15-3 13 2,473,066 6/1949 Miller 15344 X 2,528,278 10/ 1950 Kendrick 15--420 2,559,983 7/1951 Miller 15-313 2,999,263 9/1961 Smith 15-344 3,079,626 3/1963 Yonkers et al 15-350 X FOREIGN PATENTS 308,257 10/ 1929 Great Britain. 443,472 12/ 1948 Italy. 455,924 6/ 1949 Italy.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner. 

